Vinod K. Jain

Prof. Vinod Jain is the founder and former Director of the Center for International Business Education and Research (CIBER) at the Smith School of Business, University of Maryland, and teaches for both the Management & Organization and Logistics, Business & Public Policy Departments at the Smith School. He is also an Affiliate Professor in the Latin American Studies Center, University of Maryland. A Fulbright Scholar and true cosmopolitan, Vinod has lived and worked in India, the United States, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, China, and the Middle East.

Vinod teaches courses in “strategy”, “global strategy”, and “competing in emerging markets” on Smith School’s MBA program, and “international business” on the undergraduate program. He has taught strategy on Smith School’s Executive MBA programs in China and Switzerland, as well as on the EMBA program of the University of Lodz, Poland. His current research is on the governance practices of U.S. multinationals’ captive R&D units in India. He is also developing a “state innovation index” for the fifty U.S. states, a project funded partially by the IBM Center for the Business of Government.

He has designed and chaired thought-leadership symposia at academic conferences and his universities on themes such as “Business Models in the New Economy”, “Democratization of Education”, and “ethics and internationalization.” During the last twelve years, he has won and managed five federal grants with a combined budget of over $2 million, each with the overarching objective of strengthening the international competitiveness of United States business. And, he has been honored by the Governors of both Maryland (2004) and Ohio (2001) for his services to their states.

Prior to returning to academia in 1990, Vinod worked in industry for about fifteen years and held a variety of middle and senior executive positions, including Vice President (Macmillan Publishers), Manager Coordination (Molins plc), and Marketing Research Executive (Coca-Cola). He continues a deep involvement with business and industry through research, speaking engagements, seminars, and conferences. A popular speaker, Vinod has conducted over one hundred executive seminars in India, Bahrain, Brazil, China, Europe, and the United States, and has been active on a number of boards and professional and trade associations.

Vinod has a Ph.D. in Strategy and International Management from the University of Maryland at College Park and Master’s degrees in Management (UCLA) and Statistics (Indian Statistical Institute). He is a member of Academy of International Business, Academy of Management, Asia Society, and Mensa. He serves on the Maryland-Washington D.C. District Export Council, and is the President & CEO of the India-US World Affairs Institute, Inc. He is President Emeritus of the Toledo Area International Trade Association, and previously served on the board of governors of Ohio’s IT Alliance during 2000-2002.